Volvo uses AI and virtual worlds to achieve safer autonomous vehicles - relying on technology from Nvidia.Volvo
When it comes to the advancement of autonomous driving functions, no one has been able to bypass Nvidia's supercomputing platforms for a long time. At this year's GTC, the tech player announced a series of new and deepened partnerships.
It has now become a good tradition that Nvidia announces a whole range of new partnerships and collaborations with renowned players from the automotive industry at its annual developer conference GTC. Two topics are particularly in the foreground: factory planning with the Digital Twin and new performance improvements in autonomous driving.
For the latter, the Thor computing platform has been the main focus since last year, which, as the successor to Orin, brings a performance of 1,000 teraflops and thus combines both cockpit functions and safe, highly automated and autonomous driving on a central platform. In addition, the platform is to integrate Nvidia's Blackwell architecture, which was developed for transformer, LLM, and generative AI workloads, among other things. In terms of AI, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has already announced the next stage of development: In autumn 2026, a new platform called Vera Rubin will hit the market, which is expected to significantly reduce the costs of operating AI software compared to Blackwell.
Magna and GM integrate Drive AGX
One of the automotive players that wants to rely even more on Nvidia technology in the future is Magna. The system supplier will integrate the Drive AGX computing architecture based on the Thor SoCs, which runs on the Blackwell GPU, for the next levels of autonomous driving. According to Magna, this should improve efficiency, speed, and scalability.
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“By combining Nvidia's accelerated computing and AI capabilities with Magna's experience and innovation in the automotive sector, we aim to set new standards for software-defined vehicle intelligence and next-generation autonomy,” said Steven Jenkins, Vice President of Technology Strategy at Magna. The supplier plans to showcase a corresponding demonstrator in the fourth quarter. For this, Magna will use Nvidia's Drive OS for development, integration, validation, and production processes.
One of the industry's giants also plans to use Nvidia's Drive AGX platform in the future: General Motors. The US volume manufacturer intends to integrate the chipset into its onboard hardware to realize “advanced assistance systems and a safe driving experience in the interior.” GM has previously used Nvidia chips to develop autonomous shuttles with its subsidiary Cruise. Meanwhile, the automaker has discontinued the robotaxi business and is focusing on advanced assistance systems for passenger cars.
In addition to technologies for autonomous driving, GM will also rely on Nvidia in the factory context in the future. AI-driven digital twins, robotics, and connected software solutions from the tech player are expected to enhance the innovation power of the traditional OEM.
The US robotics startup Nuro also relies on Nvidia's Drive AGX platform, which, together with the device manufacturer Lenovo, wants to create and commercialise a robust and safer end-to-end system for autonomous vehicles at Level 4. Nuro had already decided last year to rely on the Thor platform in the future to operate the Nuro Driver - an integrated autonomous driving system consisting of proprietary AI software in conjunction with Nvidia's computing and network hardware.
However, the Nvidia system is not only suitable for passenger cars but also for other segments where high-performance computers and artificial intelligence are essential for safe driving operations. This includes, for example, trucks, robotaxis, and delivery vehicles. New to this is the North American startup Gatik, which offers autonomous delivery and logistics services. Gatik integrates Drive AGX for the onboard AI processing required for its Class 6 and 7 trucks, which are manufactured by Isuzu Motors and offer driverless delivery of a wide range of goods on the middle-mile delivery.
Uber and Torc also want to advance their autonomous logistics fleets, both of which are now relying on enhanced functionalities of the Nvidia Drive system.
Thor enters Chinese electric vehicles
Last year, China's largest electric car manufacturer BYD also announced that it would expand its ongoing collaboration with Nvidia from the car to the cloud. In addition to building its next-generation EV fleets on Thor, the Chinese OEM is using Nvidia's AI infrastructure for cloud-based AI development and training technologies. Furthermore, the Nvidia platforms Isaac and Omniverse are to be used for developing applications for virtual factory planning and retail configuration.
Hyper, a premium luxury brand owned by the Chinese Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), also announced in 2024 that it had chosen Thor for its next-generation EVs, which are to be produced from 2025. The automotive brand is currently using Orin for its flagship model Hyper GT, which features advanced Level 2+ driving capabilities in high-speed environments.
Another car manufacturer from China announced at the time that it would use Thor as the brain for its next-generation EV fleets. Xpeng wants to power its AI-supported driving system with the auto computer, which enables, among other things, autonomous driving and parking. Thus, these electric manufacturers Li Auto and Zeekr are joining, who had already announced earlier that they would build their future vehicle roadmap on Thor.
